Jun 9, 2019

"Acid Rain" wins Top 2019 Animafest Zagreb Grand Prix and Audience Awards

The 29th edition of Animafest Zagreb, the world's second-oldest anmimation festival, wrapped up on Saturday night in Zagreb, Croatia, with an award ceremony that saw Tomek Popakul's Acid Rain win both the Grand Prix for short film and the audience award. Popakul's film also won the grand prize at GLAS Animation Festival last March.

The short film jury, consisting of Boris Labbé, Ruth Lingford, Michaela Müller, Tünde Vollenbroek, and Chen Xi, said that they chose Acid Rain, a Polish production from Animoon, because the film “takes us through some extreme adventures in a way that is sometimes uncomfortable, but always compelling. The filmmaker creates a complex and convincing central protagonist and allows us to identify with her risky quest for intensity and experience.”

The Golden Zagreb Award for creativity went to Michael Frei's Kids, which was profiled on Cartoon Brew last week. The jury cited Frei's use of coding and interaction to create movement. “This use of interactivity allowed the filmmaker to shape not only his creative process, but also the final outcome: a fitting visual logic for his film.”

The feature film jury, consisting of Frank Gladstone, Dine Goder, and Dalibor Baric awarded the Grand Prix for feature film to Milorad Krstic's action/crime thriller Ruben Brandt, Collector. The jury's statement on Ruben Brandt:

A complete list of winners is below:

Grand Prix – Short FilmAcid Rain by Tomek Popakul (Poland)

Golden Zagreb Award for creativity/artistic achievementKids by Michael Frei (Switzerland)

Zlatko Grgic Award for best first filmFlood by Malte Stein (Germany)

Special mention by Boris LabbéNo Objects by Moïa Jobin-Paré (Canada)

Special mention by Ruth LingfordFive Minutes to Sea by Natalia Mirzoyan (Russia)

Special mention by Michaela MüllerRoughhouse by Jonathan Hodgson (U.K./France)

Special mention by Tunde VollenbroekSi So Mi by Xu-Zhan Zhang (Taiwan)

Special mention by Chen XiImbued Life by Ivana Bošnjak and Thomas Johnson (Croatia)

Grand Prix – Feature FilmRuben Brandt, Collector by Milorad Krstic (Hungary)

Special mentionFunan by Denis Do (France/Belgium/Luxembourg/Cambodia)

Dušan Vukotic Award for best best student filmAfter by Matouš Valchár (Ladislav Sutnar University of Design and Art of Western Bohemia, Czech Republic)

Special mentionHappy Ending by EunJu Ara Choi (Royal College of Art, U.K.)

Special mentionLove at the Crossroads by Hee-seung Choi (Korea National University of Arts, South Korea)

Best Croatian filmA Demonstration of Brilliance in Four Acts by Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak (Estonia/Croatia)

Special mentionImbued Life by Ivana Bošnjak and Thomas Johnson (Croatia)

Special mention for best minority-stake Croatian film The Fall of Rome by Balász Turai (Hungary/Croatia)

Accused #2: Walter Sisulu by Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte (France)

Best film for childrenBig Wolf, Little Wolf by Rémi Durin (France/Belgium)

Special mentionSweet Night by Lia Bertels (Belgium)

Short filmAcid Rain by Tomek Popakul (Poland)

Feature filmFunan by Denis Do (France/Belgium/Luxembourg/Cambodia)

The Student Film and Croatian Film Competition jury consisted Nikita Diakur, Vasco Sá, and Bruno Razum. The VR Project Competition jury was David Doutel, Marc Betrand, and Milan Gostimir, while the chidlren's film jury consisted of local children.